On its knees... Benidorm says NO to The Sun newspaper article

Levante Beach on 4th July 2012 - looks deserted?

In today´s copy of "The Sun" there is a very sensational headline "Benidoom! Once a fave with Brits, now it´s on it´s knees" written by Graeme Culliford - this story is beyond inaccurate and I wish to point out the false and misleading impression it has cast over the resort.

Yes Spain is suffering in the economic crisis, much like the rest of Europe. If you are the owner of a business, not only in Benidorm but across the whole of Spain then times are harder than they were. However, people are still opening up new ventures in Benidorm even in these economically strained times .. if it is a good idea it will succeed.  One such example which springs to mind is "Levi´s Showboat"which opened on 1st March this year - a dinner & show venue which is packed virtually every night.

Official visitor figures are up year on year..... hotel occupancy for the first half of July reached 89.2% in Benidorm and there is a 12% increase in British visitors this year.

Now onto the "article" ... the first photograph with the caption "Boom n´gloom - Benidorm´s once busy beaches are now half empty" show a picture of the quieter Poniente beach which is mainly used by the Spanish in August, not the bustling Levante beach. As you can see from the initial picture it is as busy as ever and you actually need to be up and down on the sand by 7am if you want a front line position.

2 different Tavern´s - reporter gets it wrong

The "deserted bar" which is purported to be the one used in the Benidorm series is totally wrong. The one in the photograph is "The Tavern Music Bar" which is at least 1 km away from "Morgans Tavern", the correct one from the series which is heaving every night. Grahame writes of Morgans Tavern "... is all but deserted, with a lonely karaoke singer belting out tunes" - I think that either the sun or the 1 euro pints have got to his head because Morgans doesn´t even have karaoke! He really should check his facts or better still, actually visit the resort before slatting it with inaccuracies. The picture to the side shows the two bars .. the top one as seen in today´s Sun newspaper and the bottom one the real Benidorm series Neptunes Bar aka Morgans Tavern.

It is quoted that Spain is forecast to be the only member of the Eurozone that will remain in recession in 2013 - there is no mention that the UK is in the worse double dip recession in the last 50 years!

Of the tallest apartment complex, called "InTempo" he writes "but while work continues on the structure, there is no sign it will be completed any time soon". Whether that is the case or not, 50% of the units are already sold and with prices starting at 365,000 euros for a 60sq mt one bed apartment Mr Culliford should have investigated properly.

The "abandoned" hotel "The Atrium" is actually in La Cala - which comes under Finestrat Council and NOT Benidorm. The works have been stopped due to planning irregularities as they were in breech of the license and are currently being contested in the courts by the developer.

Tiki Beach bar on Levante front - no spare seats here!

Lisa Minot, Travel Editor of The Sun has her say at the end of the article. She says that "Benidorm has become just a fond memory and in the early days of package tourism offered sun, sea and sangria at a price we could afford". Well I don´t know anywhere in the UK that you can get a fresh 3 course meal with half a bottle of wine for under 10 euros - the equivalent of 8 GBP at today´s exchange rate or better still, a 3 course Chinese with half a bottle of wine for 5 euros! Even a full English breakfast can be had for as little as 1.50 euro.... tell me Lisa!

We still have the sun ... not your one, and do not need the heating on in the middle of June. As for the "un-named Geordie" you can find those all over the country, especially in the UK. As the saying goes, never let the facts gets in the way of a good story Graeme.

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